diff --git a/searx/autocomplete.py b/searx/autocomplete.py
index e277c6631..8541f3e0e 100644
--- a/searx/autocomplete.py
+++ b/searx/autocomplete.py
@@ -5,12 +5,13 @@
 # pylint: disable=use-dict-literal
 
 import json
+import random
 from urllib.parse import urlencode, quote_plus
 
 import lxml
 from httpx import HTTPError
 
-from searx import settings
+from searx import settings, logger
 from searx.engines import (
     engines,
     google,
@@ -252,11 +253,36 @@ backends = {
 }
 
 
-def search_autocomplete(backend_name, query, sxng_locale):
-    backend = backends.get(backend_name)
-    if backend is None:
-        return []
+def search_autocomplete(backend_names, query, sxng_locale):
+
+    enabled_backends = set()
+    for name in backend_names:
+        backend = backends.get(name)
+        if backend is None:
+            logger.error("%s is not valid! Must be one of %s", repr(backend), backend.keys())
+            continue
+        if backend not in enabled_backends:
+            enabled_backends.add(backend)
+
+    len_enabled_backends = len(enabled_backends)
+
     try:
-        return backend(query, sxng_locale)
+        results = []
+
+        for backend in enabled_backends:
+            backend_results = backend(query, sxng_locale)
+            if (len_enabled_backends > 1) and (len(backend_results) > 3):
+                # if more than 3 autocompleters: only get the first 3 results from each
+
+                results.extend(backend_results[:3:])
+
+            else:
+                results.extend(backend_results)
+
+        random.seed(1)
+        random.shuffle(results)
+
+        return results
+
     except (HTTPError, SearxEngineResponseException):
         return []
diff --git a/searx/preferences.py b/searx/preferences.py
index b4a10899e..7fb4982c4 100644
--- a/searx/preferences.py
+++ b/searx/preferences.py
@@ -96,6 +96,10 @@ class MultipleChoiceSetting(Setting):
     """Setting of values which can only come from the given choices"""
 
     def __init__(self, default_value: List[str], choices: Iterable[str], locked=False):
+        # backwards compat for autocomplete setting (was string, now is a list of strings)
+        if isinstance(default_value, str):
+            default_value = [str(val) for val in default_value.split(",")]
+
         super().__init__(default_value, locked)
         self.choices = choices
         self._validate_selections(self.value)
@@ -401,7 +405,7 @@ class Preferences:
                 locked=is_locked('locale'),
                 choices=list(LOCALE_NAMES.keys()) + ['']
             ),
-            'autocomplete': EnumStringSetting(
+            'autocomplete': MultipleChoiceSetting(
                 settings['search']['autocomplete'],
                 locked=is_locked('autocomplete'),
                 choices=list(autocomplete.backends.keys()) + ['']
diff --git a/searx/settings.yml b/searx/settings.yml
index 859b4613d..bc1454a83 100644
--- a/searx/settings.yml
+++ b/searx/settings.yml
@@ -29,10 +29,12 @@ brand:
 search:
   # Filter results. 0: None, 1: Moderate, 2: Strict
   safe_search: 0
-  # Existing autocomplete backends: "dbpedia", "duckduckgo", "google", "yandex", "mwmbl",
-  # "seznam", "startpage", "stract", "swisscows", "qwant", "wikipedia" - leave blank to turn it off
-  # by default.
-  autocomplete: ""
+  # Existing autocomplete backends: "dbpedia", "duckduckgo", "google",
+  # "yandex", "mwmbl", "seznam", "startpage", "stract", "swisscows", "qwant", "wikipedia"
+  # Uncomment the section below and edit/add/remove each engine to turn them on by default.
+  # autocomplete:
+  #  - duckduckgo
+  #  - stract
   # minimun characters to type before autocompleter starts
   autocomplete_min: 4
   # Default search language - leave blank to detect from browser information or
diff --git a/searx/settings_defaults.py b/searx/settings_defaults.py
index 93b04257c..b9ae4572e 100644
--- a/searx/settings_defaults.py
+++ b/searx/settings_defaults.py
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ SCHEMA = {
     },
     'search': {
         'safe_search': SettingsValue((0, 1, 2), 0),
-        'autocomplete': SettingsValue(str, ''),
+        'autocomplete': SettingsValue((list, str, False), ['']),
         'autocomplete_min': SettingsValue(int, 4),
         'default_lang': SettingsValue(tuple(SXNG_LOCALE_TAGS + ['']), ''),
         'languages': SettingSublistValue(SXNG_LOCALE_TAGS, SXNG_LOCALE_TAGS),
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_preferences.py b/tests/unit/test_preferences.py
index 5855c12a6..d51c306ff 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_preferences.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_preferences.py
@@ -66,6 +66,14 @@ class TestSettings(SearxTestCase):  # pylint: disable=missing-class-docstring
 
     # multiple choice settings
 
+    def test_multiple_setting_default_value_invalid_commma_seperated(self):
+        with self.assertRaises(ValidationException):
+            MultipleChoiceSetting("duckduckgo,doesnotexist", choices=['duckduckgo', 'stract', 'qwant'])
+
+    def test_multiple_setting_default_value_valid_commma_seperated(self):
+        setting = MultipleChoiceSetting("duckduckgo,stract", choices=['duckduckgo', 'stract', 'qwant'])
+        self.assertEqual(setting.get_value(), ['duckduckgo', 'stract'])
+
     def test_multiple_setting_invalid_default_value(self):
         with self.assertRaises(ValidationException):
             MultipleChoiceSetting(['3', '4'], choices=['0', '1', '2'])
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_settings_loader.py b/tests/unit/test_settings_loader.py
index 088767597..f9f41b3f4 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_settings_loader.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_settings_loader.py
@@ -121,3 +121,4 @@ class TestUserSettings(SearxTestCase):  # pylint: disable=missing-class-docstrin
             self.assertEqual(settings['server']['secret_key'], "user_settings_secret")
             engine_names = [engine['name'] for engine in settings['engines']]
             self.assertEqual(engine_names, ['wikidata', 'wikibooks', 'wikinews', 'wikiquote'])
+            self.assertIsInstance(settings['search']['autocomplete'], (list, str))